Parental Reprimand
by TwilightSparkle3562
Summary: From the episode "Slave," Lt. Van Buren confronts a father who physically disciplined his son in her interrogation room.


Disclaimer: I do not own "Law and Order," or its characters. They are property of Universal Studios and Dick Wolf.

Author's Note: In the episode "Slave," there was a scene where a father (Frank Doyle) was physically discipling his son (Clayton Doyle), when he refused to tell the truth about what had happened with Lonnie Rickman, the prime suspect in the story. Because of Detective Curtis' reluctance to intervene, Lt. Van Buren had to step in and order Curtis to take Doyle out of the Interrogation Room. This is a fanfic that is told from Van Buren's point of view.

"Parental Reprimand"

By TwilightSparkle3562

It had been a very tense few minutes at the 27th precinct, Clayton Doyle and his parents had been brought in by my detectives, Lennie Briscoe and Rey Curtis, because Clayton was being questioned over how a young boy named Lonnie Rickman had tried to kill him and Clayton was not saying anything. As a result, his father, Frank, became so angry that he felt that it was necessary to physically reprimand him for not telling the truth. My rules were that if a suspect is physically attacked, my detectives are to restore order immediately. To my shock and dismay, Detective Curtis instead held the mother, Mrs. Doyle, back while Frank slapped Clayton and screamed at him to tell the truth.

"He can't let him do that," I said to myself and swung the door wide open. "Detective Curtis!"

The sound and command of my voice stopped the commotion and Mr. Doyle looked at me with a look of disgust on his face, almost as if I was interfering in his business.

"Take Mr. Doyle outside now," I ordered to Detective Curtis. Angry at being told what to do about his son, I saw Mr. Doyle drop Clayton back into the seat and Detective Curtis escorted Mr. Doyle out of the interrogation room. Looking down at Clayton, I could see that he was frightened to tell the truth and his father's behavior certainly did not help in any way. However, I still had to be firm.

"Listen to me, young man," I began, sitting down in front of the frightened child. "This has gone on long enough. Now, you are going to tell me what Lonnie did to you on the roof."

Clayton was silent for a minute, still shocked and scared by what had just happened. Finally, feeling comfortable, he began to speak.

"He put a gun to my head," he said, causing his mother to gasp in shock.

"Why?" I asked, glaring at him right in the face.

"Roscoe Morales, I didn't want to be in his crew no more," continued Clayton, who was now feeling comfortable with me in the room.

"Selling dope?" I asked again, my voice calming down. "You didn't want to be working for him anymore?"

"I tried to get them to listen," continued Clayton, his mother holding his hand. "But, when they didn't, they were going to kill me and when Lonnie fired, I ducked my head and the bullet grazed my head and that was how I got hurt."

Feeling I had gotten a decent confession, I rose up and looked down at the boy. He was going to talk, but it was to the right person to talk to, namely me. A few moments later, I sat in my office with Lennie and Rey as we reviewed the events in the interrogation room. However, there was still the matter of Mr. Doyle's behavior towards Clayton that really bothered me and angered me at the same time.

"Lennie," I said to Detective Briscoe. "Give me a moment with Detective Curtis. And if Mr. Doyle is still in the building, have him see me at once. I'd like a few words with him."

So Lennie got up and left me alone with Detective Curtis, who was going to learn the hard truth of how I run this precinct. . I run my precinct with a firm but fair hand and all suspects are not to be harmed in any way. Clearly, Detective Curtis didn't get the message.

"Your conduct was unacceptable," I said, looking up at him. Of course, Curtis didn't take this well.

"Why?" huffed Curtis, his voice and face filled with disgust. "Cause I let a father discipline his kid?"

"No one lays a hand on a suspect in my interrogation room," I said, firmly. "Now, that man was out of control and it was up to you to manage it."

"Well, that kid was out of control," protested Curtis, storming towards my desk. "And you know what scares me? That somebody like that could go to school with my daughter."

"You think you are the only one who loses sleep?" I remarked. "Look, if you don't like the way that this place is run…transfer."

Angry at what was just spoken to him, Curtis stormed out of my office, slamming the door behind him. I know that Rey had children and that he thought that what Mr. Doyle was doing was an effort to protect his son, but this not a house, this is a police precinct and I make the rules.

Just then, I saw Lennie return towards my office with Mr. Doyle following him. Knocking on the door, I allowed Lennie to come in with Mr. Doyle following behind. Clearly, I could see that Mr. Doyle was not in the mood to be talked down to like a little child. But, this was something that needed to be done.

"Lennie, make sure that Clayton and Mrs. Doyle are taken care of for the next few minutes," I said.

"Got it," he replied. "Kid must be traumatized by his maniac father."

Lennie glared down at Mr. Doyle and stepped out of the office, shutting the door behind him. Impatiently, Mr. Doyle glared at me and I glared back at him.

"Why are you doing this to me?" asked Mr. Doyle. "Look, I'm sorry for the way I acted, but you have to understand why I had to…"

"No, you need to listen to me, Mr. Doyle," I interrupted, raising my finger at him. "You were this close to being arrested for assault tonight."

"I didn't assault my child," protested Mr. Doyle, looking at me right in the face. "I was doing what every single parent is supposed to do when their kid does something stupid. I was disciplining him because my only child was selling drugs."

But, I wasn't buying what Mr. Doyle was saying. I was taught that action always speaks much louder than words. What Mr. Doyle did to Clayton was a clear and prime example of that.

"Not to me you weren't," I replied, speaking to Mr. Doyle in a stern sounding voice. "When you come into my precinct or any precinct for that matter, all suspects are to be protected from physical harm at all times and if they are harmed, the person harming them is immediately arrested for assault."

Mr. Doyle then looked over towards his son and wife, who glared at him right in the face. He could see the fear in his son's eyes, the fear that he stuck into him.

"Why are they looking at me like that?" asked Mr. Doyle.

"Because they are scared and angry at you," I replied. "I have two sons myself and I discipline them with words and not with my hands. Did you think I was going to do such a thing to your son?"

But, Mr. Doyle didn't answer my question and it was at that moment that I had to tell him what his son had said to me.

"Clayton told me what you wanted to hear from him," I continued, sitting back in my chair. "He would only speak to me because he was afraid to talk to you."

Feeling that he was going to get an answer at last, Mr. Doyle sighed and gave his undivided attention to me.

"Clayton explained to me that a gun was placed to his head by Lonnie Rickman," I said, causing Mr. Doyle's eyes to open wide. He could not believe what I was telling him, but he wanted to hear the truth and I was giving it to him.

"What else did he say to you?" asked Mr. Doyle, rising to his feet, now starting to demand answers. "Tell me right now!"

"Mr. Doyle, calm down and I will tell you," I replied, once again glaring him right in the eye. Fearing that he had caused enough trouble, Mr. Doyle sat down and allowed me to reveal more of what Clayton had said to me.

"He told me that he didn't want to be associated with Rickman and Morales," I continued, trying to maintain the peace. "Clayton says that they didn't listen and that they tried to kill him by shooting him in the head."

Mr. Doyle couldn't believe what he was hearing and now was starting to curse at himself into what an idiot he was tonight. He wanted the truth about his son's involvement and he got it.

"Do you see why your son was afraid to talk?" I remarked. "You wanted to hear the truth and you got it."

Feeling that he made himself a complete idiot, Mr. Doyle rose up and stormed over towards his wife and son, who glanced back in fear.

"Come on," he said to them in a calm voice. "We're going home and I'm sorry for the way I acted tonight Clayton."

Clayton nodded nervously as he hugged his father tightly while I watched, feeling accomplished that this interrogation had ended in a peaceful manner. As he left, he turned back to me and gave me one last glance.

"Find that boy who tried to kill my son and get him off the streets," he said coldly and left with his son and wife, still feeling like an idiot for his behavior.

So, with that settled, I turned my attention back to planning the capture of Roscoe Morales and Lonnie Rickman. However, I was still not happy with Detective Curtis, who just sat at his desk silently, still believing what Mr. Doyle did to his son was right when it really wasn't.

Still, I was the head of the 27th precinct and what I say will go.


End file.
